One of our forum regulars, Jonny English (aka Jon_the_Prong), has done a nice and simple guide for doing a blowhole. You modding n3wbs out there should bookmark this thread or this article page.

Check it out here.

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NIce work Jon. That your Mum's case?

Quote: Originally posted by Sportbilly NIce work Jon. That your Mum's case?

You beat me to it!

Good job Jon, this is great for all my NoObs!

Just to make it easier to find... Here is the fan template I made for the n3wbs. It is for 120, 92, and 80 mm fans. Simply print it out and it should eb the correct size (as long as you don't resize the image).

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Way to go Johnny E.
You're right, It's the place to start, the modding game!!
Good Job,Bloke!

Pffft and i started by cutting out a penguin

good guide, will probably be doing that somewhat soon

GK...the templates are a great addition to this thread and to Jon's how to.

very good article you have there. and great use of the template. i have saved it for future use.

You could also use a protractor and trace the diameter of the fan. I used a hole saw for my 120mm, but later went to a dremel because my Ahanix case is tough. A drill press would be good for some of these thick cases.

Nice article by the way, good for n00bs.

Good article, JE. Members like you are what makes PR a premium site.

Good guide Jonny, and those templates are a great addition GK.

On an additional note, a CD is the perfect size for a 120mm hole as well.
I save the clear cover cd that comes in spools of blank media for later use.

That picture of the 120mm looks kinda big...I'll print it out and check out the dimensions...could be my laptop resolution.

Way to go Mr. English! I like how you pointed out...

"You'll see the PSU & a CDRW are still in place in the photo, I've left them in to help me get the best position for the hole. These will be removed before I do any cutting. Removing your components from your case for a mod like this is NOT optional: the risk of vibration damage and /or short circuits from metal fragments is just too great."

I'm sure a loot of newbs don't even think about that when first starting out until after the sparks are flying.

Nice how-to there Jonny and kinda timely too. I am finally gonna be making the first cut into my case next week sometime and was contemplating a blow-hole as well as the side window w/ fan(s).

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys - it's great to hear my article was appreciated by both experienced modders & newcomers alike.

Thanks also to GK for publishing it & providing the template, and of course for creating a site worth writing the article for in the first place.



And yes, it is my mum's rig . Good job those 120's didn't fit - it's blowing a loud gale as it is !

A quick note on GK's templates: I found that by right clicking on the image & selecting "print picture" the templates were perfectly sized, but IE wouldn't let me print it without cropping ... if you download the template & print it from whatever art s/w you've got, you need to print it at 74% of full size.

If you're in any doubt about the accuracy of your printing, compare your template with these measurements:

80mm Fan: distance between the _centres_ of the holes vertically/horizontally is 72mm; diagonally is 102mm.

92mm Fan: 83mm horizontally/vertically; 117mm diagonally

120mm Fan: 107mm horiz/vert; 149mm diagonally.

Edit: whoops, submitted that 2nd post twice, & can't delete it

See it somewhere here.

Quote: Originally posted by karx11erx See it somewhere here.

That's a nice rig, karx', I especially like the blowhole

But why go to all that effort & not paint the inside of the case & do something with the components, especially the PSU ?

Another thumbs up for going watercooled, but you've also got some ugly wiring there, overspray, AND the purple fan holder (here).
If you're going to show of the inside with a window, you need to have internals worth showing off.

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BTW, if anyone wants to see more pics of karx's rig, you can also see it in the PR gallery here, here, here ... and here

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Edit @ 16:05 BST - those urls are no longer current ... I can't be bothered to post the new ones but karx's rig should be easy enough to find - it's in the galley 5 times

Thanks for the compliment.

I have cut out the blowhole with a Dremel multitool. For the surrounding window segments I marked two circles with a steel pair of compasses, drilled 10 mm holes at the end positions of the planned windows, and again cut them out with my Dremel. Under the blowhole there is a lit fan grill below which a lit fan is mounted (wasn't bright enough for my taste, hence the lit fan grill).

As far as the inside goes:

I have ordered some mirror foil for the inside, but it hasn't arrived yet. Gotta rip out everything once again for it ...

I put up some pictures of the case interior rather for documentary completeness than too show off how 'leet' it is, and to display the water cooling.

There's not much else to be done about the wiring, I'm afraid. I have tried a lot to get rid of most cables, but since the watercooling and soundcard are at the bottom of the case (with the gfx requiring a 12V connector not far), a lot of cables have to lead down there. I attached them to the mobo mounting plate right of the mobo. Almost all other PSU cables are sleeved with a black tube. Admittedly silver would've been nicer, but not easy to be found. Gotta search some online shops, I guess. The case is just too cramped with stuff.

What do you mean with "overspray"? The color traces at the case top? You won't see them with the case closed, so I did not care.